Tate Talks Pennington, Nunes

Miesha Tate selected Raquel Pennington for her squad during a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter.

Now, several years later, Tate must solve Pennington inside the Octagon if she hopes to compete for gold once more. The two meet at UFC 205 next Saturday night.

“It was strange at first,” Tate said during an appearance on UFC Tonight recently. “It was the elephant in the room and we kind of knew that it was a possibility from the beginning. When the cage door closes, all that’s out the window and we’ve got to fight. We can be friends later.”

While her focus is on Pennington, Tate did respond to talk about a potential rematch with Amanda Nunes, the woman who bested her for the title earlier this year.

“I got caught with that right hand. I don’t remember much after that,” she said. “I got to round two and didn’t have the strength or coordination in my body. Your brain was telling your body to do something but you couldn’t do it. I hope to not experience that again. I’m ready to get back in there.”